Old Bailey bomber and former IRA hunger striker Marian Price is to stand trial in connection with the murders of two soldiers gunned down outside their Antrim base three years ago.

Price appeared before Belfast Magistrates Court yesterday where a barrister for the Public Prosecution Service said he believed there was a prima facie case against her.

District Judge Mervyn Bates returned Price for Crown Court trial on a date yet to be fixed. The 57-year-old spokeswoman for the 32 County Sovereignty Movement is accused of providing property for the purposes of terrorism.

She is alleged to have provided a mobile phone to the gang responsible for the killings of Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey at Massereene barracks in Antrim in March 2009.

Unlike previous court appearances, there were no supporters of Price visible yesterday at Laganside Courthouse where there was a heavy police presence for the short preliminary investigation into the case.

After a 10-minute adjournment to speak in private with her barrister Sean Devine, Price, who is also known by her married name Marian McGlinchey, only spoke to say she understood the charge against her and that she did not wish to say anything.

The court was told that hearsay evidence will be introduced against Price in relation to statements she allegedly made to a journalist.

Hearsay evidence will also be used in relation to phone records that will allegedly connect the 57-year-old's mobile phone to the Real IRA's claim of responsibility for the Massereene murders.

No submissions were made by Price's legal team and she was returned to custody to await a date for trial.

Profile

In 1973 Marian Price was jailed for 20 years for her involvement in an IRA bombing campaign in London, alongside her sister Dolours and current Sinn Fein minister Gerry Kelly. She is now a member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.